I tried this exercise in my chest workout and I really loved doing them. I got an OK chest pump but nothing significant. Since they didn't contribute much to an effective workout I'm dissappointed in knowing I can't really consider doing them again.

Does anyone have any success with them or believe I'm wrong in my opinion? Just curious.

I believe in rib cage expansion. Mine has grown a clear and noticeable amount from heavy repiration during such demanding lifts as squats and deadlifts. While doing dumbell pullovers I really felt my rib cage stretching. It felt good I bet I'd put an inch or 2 on my chest if I stayed consistent with them.

i like the machine pullover but its a bitch to get it started when you have big shoulders. but if i had to pick. i would go with a db. easier to control. but thats just me. if your going to do bb pullover and add in a press to it.

a pullover is a lat exercise. The joint movement is shoulder extension, which is what the lats do. And heck yea it is a good mass builder but it is only good until your upper arms are perpendicular to your body, beyond that, the weight is no weight at all because gravity moves it downward.

The bent arm pullover is one of the prime mass builder for the upper body. The straight arm version works well but not to the extrent that the bent arm version does because more weight and a better stretch can be achieved. Using DB's can reduce some undo stress on the wrist, elbows and shoulder girdle in most men rather than using a BB, though both styles work well.

Pullovers work the lat's, pec's & triceps very, very strongly but go easy on this exercise at first, if it's new to you. Even the abs, as a stablelizing group, are worked hard. Combining the bent arm pullover with the BP, as a single compound exercise (pullover & press), increases the capacity for muscle mass for the upper body. You can either do one rep of pullovers and than press the weight (either DB or BB) overhead right after, than do another pullover, press, pullover , etc. Or do reps of bent arm pullovers and immediately do overhead (bench press) after, with the same weight for one complete set. You can get a better stretch on the pullovers if the knee's are drawn up rather than have the legs out flat if your doing light pullovers after squats, etc. For heavier pullovers it's a pretty good idea to rap the legs around the bench or even have some one hold the legs down. You can, after a while, use large amounts of weight in this exercise. 150lb+ DB's or 250lb BB's are not out of the question

Rib Box: If young enought, the cartilage (elastic tissue around/between the rib's/breast bone) is still in a soften state and has not harden as it does when we mature, usually around 22 -24 years of age in most people. Pullovers will allow a expanding influence on the rib box to reach a permanent size increase in the chest measurement. A lot of younger guy's have had a 2 or 3 inch gain on the chest. Of course if you include a serious set of pullovers after breathing squats than the gain is almost assured in most people. Even in older trainee's there can be a noticeable flexability not only in the rib box but also the muscle attachment/inserts around the chest area giving a fuller, higher feeling to the chest. Good Luck.

Rib Box: If young enought, the cartilage (elastic tissue around/between the rib's/breast bone) is still in a soften state and has not harden as it does when we mature, usually around 22 -24 years of age in most people. Pullovers will allow a expanding influence on the rib box to reach a permanent size increase in the chest measurement. A lot of younger guy's have had a 2 or 3 inch gain on the chest. Of course if you include a serious set of pullovers after breathing squats than the gain is almost assured in most people. Even in older trainee's there can be a noticeable flexability not only in the rib box but also the muscle attachment/inserts around the chest area giving a fuller, higher feeling to the chest. Good Luck.

I'm gonna have to agree with this from personal experience. I don't have a very strong chest, or particularly large pecs, but i have what appears to be a very big chest. Even at my leanest, i'm very thick in the chest area. I did pullovers religiously from ages 16-20.

Pullovers work the lat's, pec's & triceps very, very strongly but go easy on this exercise at first, if it's new to you. Even the abs, as a stablelizing group, are worked hard. Combining the bent arm pullover with the BP, as a single compound exercise (pullover & press), increases the capacity for muscle mass for the upper body.

Or do reps of bent arm pullovers and immediately do overhead (bench press) after, with the same weight for one complete set.

John M--I'm a girl---- and I really, really, really like these=== as JPM said above -- I do the compound push pull exercise for this and it has definitely helped me be much stronger with my bench press, with lat pulldowns, and also helped stabilize my core/abs. It's such a great stretch too!

STella (persona-Runnerbabe): Your feeling the stretch on the breast bone and that would be one of the main points of the exercise. Your doing it right. That why I suggested that people trying pullovers for the first time take it easy at first, you don't get that kind of stretch in most other exercises. Ever straight arm or bent, they are a exercise well worth doing.

JM: Girls, women and senior babe's do need that flexability and development in their rib box/chest (and it also looks good to me, besides). Pullovers may be hard on the shoulders at first because most trainee's have a somewhat tight shoulder girdle but the more you do them the better your preformence. I'll usually do a light set of swingbell ( or hold a single DB with both hands under the plate's) straight arm pullovers before doing the heavy DB bent arm version.

No one exercise is for everyone, but you do have to give some a honest try to see what the results might be. That's what's great about working out, you can always experiment with new ideas, systems and methods of training. If one way doesn't do it for you, than try another until you find one that does. Good Luck.

i never did pullovers my first few years of training...one day i decided to try them for a few months because i heard they worked for a friend. i started using a 50 pound DB and did 3 sets of 10-12 at the end of my chest routine. i alternated between DB and machine pullovers every few weeks. after 2 months my shoulders felt more flexible, my chest seemed to expand a little(i was 19 when i started them) and my lats came out like never before. after 2 months i went from using a 50 DB up to a 90 DB for 10 reps with a good stretch. this for me is enough proof to have everyone at least TRY them for a few MONTHS before judging. just like anything else you need TIME to see if they work. i didn't get much out of them the first few weeks but the biggest improvements i could personally see/feel was better shoulder flexability, larger chest, better abs, and my lats got alot wider in a short period of time. i still do them almost every chest workout.